Iceland is the first place in Europe to welcome vaccinated Americans, as well as those who have recovered from coronavirus. Delta is capitalizing on that, with three different routes to the country.
Delta’s service to Iceland in 2021
This summer, Delta will be operating three routes to Iceland. The airline will be bringing back its seasonal routes out of Minneapolis and New York, and will also be introducing a new service to Iceland out of Boston.
As Joe Esposito, Delta’s SVP of Network Planning, describes this new route:
“We know our customers are eager to safely get back out into the world, including exploring one of the globe’s most beautiful outdoor destinations. As confidence in travel rises, we hope more countries continue reopening to vaccinated travelers, which mean more opportunities to reconnect customers to the people and places that matter most.”
Let’s take a look at the details.
Delta’s Boston to Keflavik route
As of May 20, 2021, Delta will launch a new daily service between Boston and Iceland:
DL266 Boston to Keflavik departing 10:25PM arriving 7:45AM (+1 day)
DL267 Keflavik to Boston departing 10:15AM arriving 12:00PM
The route will be operated by a domestically configured Boeing 757-200, featuring 193 seats. The first class cabin will be sold as Premium Select (the name of Delta’s premium economy product), and then there will be Comfort+ and Main Cabin as well.
The type of seat Delta is selling as Premium Select
Delta’s Minneapolis to Keflavik route
As of May 27, 2021, Delta will resume its daily seasonal service between Minneapolis and Iceland:
DL260 Minneapolis to Keflavik departing 8:45PM arriving 7:55AM (+1 day)
DL261 Keflavik to Minneapolis departing 9:30AM arriving 11:00AM
The route will be operated by a domestically configured Boeing 757-200, featuring 193 seats. The first class cabin will be sold as Premium Select (the name of Delta’s premium economy product), and then there will be Comfort+ and Main Cabin as well.
Delta’s New York to Keflavik route
As of May 1, 2021, Delta will resume its daily seasonal service between New York and Iceland:
DL246 New York JFK to Keflavik departing 10:15PM arriving 8:05AM (+1 day)
DL247 Keflavik to New York JFK departing 11:15AM arriving 1:15PM
The route will be operated by an internationally configured Boeing 757-200, featuring 168 seats. This includes fully flat seats in Delta One, and then there will be Comfort+ and Main Cabin as well. As you can see, this will be Delta’s only route to Iceland featuring flat beds.
Delta One on the Boeing 757-200
Iceland expansion makes sense
Ultimately airline route planning has become a totally different game in the past year due to the pandemic, and airlines are adapting as much as they can. The European Union is far from a sure bet for Americans this summer, and Iceland is so far the only European country that has opened to vaccinated Americans so far this year.
So it’s not surprising to see Delta adding more capacity. Interestingly Delta is really an outlier here as far as US carriers go — United is operating a single daily seasonal route between Newark and Keflavik with a 757, while American has canceled its seasonal service to Keflavik (which in the past has been operated out of Dallas or Philadelphia).
United is the only other US airline flying to Iceland this summer
Personally I’d be surprised if we don’t see some additional capacity to Iceland from American and/or United. You’d think this would be a good time for that WOW Air relaunch to happen, but there has been radio silence from the West Virginia-based cargo airline for all of 2021.
A WOW Air relaunch is supposed to happen eventually… maybe…
Bottom line
Delta will be operating three routes to Iceland this summer, including the return of routes from Minneapolis and New York, and a new route out of Boston. All the routes will be operated by 757s — two routes will have domestically configured 757s, while one route will have an internationally configured 757.
Ultimately this expansion in Iceland makes perfect sense — most of Europe is still off limits to Americans, while Iceland is open to those who are vaccinated, as well as those who have tested positive for coronavirus in the past.
Anyone planning a trip to Iceland this summer?
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